The Great Room Re-Branding: A New Shared Montessori Style Bedroom

My son’s bedroom has been suffering from some very negative PR lately. Everything from the lack of light in the room at night to the disturbing presence of an exclamation mark on one of the pirate posters, and the absence of little brother have been cited by Maxwell as reasons why the room is terrifying. Coincidentally the master bedroom is all things good, not scary, and sleep inducing. As a result our king sized bed has been sleeping six-Maxwell, Patrick, our two dogs, and my husband and me pushed to the edges- for more than three months now.

After one too many sleepless nights we decided that Maxwell’s room needed to be rebranded to sell him on the idea of sleeping in it again. I set to work trolling the Internet for ideas. One thing was clear, Patrick would need to leave his crib (he’s been trying to climb out for awhile now) and join Maxwell. Both boys have been wanting to sleep together for some time now, but a shared room poses some obvious challenges so I decided that the child focused, simple, and safe montissori style room was the way too go for us.

How did the first night go? Wins:–To say the boys were pleased would be a grand understatement. They were blurs of joy running around the room after bath last night

-Despite the frenzied excitement they went to sleep in record time

-When Patrick woke up (as always) it was easier to comfort him on the floor mattress because I could lay down next to him
-When Maxwell woke up (as always) he was easily comforted by the reminder that Patrick was with him and went back to sleep…the first time.
-Easier for one person to manage bedtime alone in one room.

Room for improvement:
-Maxwell and Patrick may have lasted in their room longer than normal, but due to my sleep induced acquiescence I let them into our bed in the wee hours of the morning.
-Patrick rolled off of his bed once (easily fixed by moving couch next to his mattress
-We’ll need to vacuum more often since they’re on the floor

I would recommend a montessori style room to anyone trying to declutter their child’s room. From a safety standpoint it comforts me to know that everything is either kid friendly or at least as kid proofed as possible. It is also a nice option for anyone who has to put two kiddos to sleep on their own. Not dividing my story and song time between two rooms will bring us closer together and hopefully expedite the bedtime routine.